On the sidelines of the World Ports Sustainability Program-event, the Antwerp Port Authority signed two agreements on 23 March, to create the necessary conditions to supply onshore power for seagoing ships in the port.
The first agreement was inked with Alfaport-VOKA, the representative of the private port community whose support is essential for the project to succeed. Under the second agreement, five technical partners, including Techelec, Schneider Electric, ABB, Actemium and Siemens, will make their expertise available to enable onshore power for seagoing vessels in the port area to be realized in the short term.
Onshore power will enable ships moored in the port to shut down their engines and instead to draw power from the electricity grid. Using onshore power in this way will immediately reduce emissions of NOx, CO2 and particulates, thus benefiting the local air quality, the port expects.
Port Authority CEO Jacques Vandermeiren, who signed the LoI, said:
Barges have been able to make use of onshore power in the Antwerp port area for some time now. And our own fleet of service vessels has been using onshore power since the beginning of this year. But currently there are still not enough facilities for seagoing ships. This is a pity, as onshore power can make a significant contribution to the sustainability transition planned for our port platform. We therefore see the development of onshore power as a strategic priority for the next few years.
Stephan Vanfraechem, managing director of Alfaport-VOKA, said:
As a platform from and for the private port sector, we want to bring terminal operators, ship owners and ship’s agents together to find out how we can achieve an effective use of onshore power. Ships are increasingly being built with onshore power facilities, but their use in the ports is still very limited. At the various links in the chain there are still operational, technical and economic questions. We want to discuss and solve this via this project and thus enable a successful roll out.
At the same event, nearly 1000 ports and port-related companies inked an agreement committing themselves to achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
